MotoGP 08 Impressions

[gbx34]

I ended up getting this for 360. So far i am liking the racing. I am surprised that i ended up using the Simulation style. It is the best way to go. It was not as hard as i thought it would be after you understand what you can cannot do.

What are the best bikes? They seem have no stats unlike the career mode where you build your bike with stats. Also in the career mode the teams that are wroth more points, would those be the best bikes?

[Kruza]

Quote: Originally Posted by gbx34

I ended up getting this for 360. So far i am liking the racing. I am surprised that i ended up using the Simulation style. It is the best way to go. It was not as hard as i thought it would be after you understand what you can cannot do. What are the best bikes? They seem have no stats unlike the career mode where you build your bike with stats. Also in the career mode the teams that are wroth more points, would those be the best bikes?

I do think playing with Simulation handling model from the start is the best way to go aside from starting on Arcade or Advanced handling then changing to Simulation afterward. It's really not that much of an adjustment to make if one were to stick with Simulation handling from the beginning. The key is getting comfortable with riding 125cc bikes with Simulation handling first then work your way up to more powerful 250cc bikes, and then the premier MotoGP bikes.

And it does seem that the teams who has the best bikes take the most Career points to unlock, but I'm not 100% sure if this is true.

Kruza

[Kruza]

I want to update my impressions on MotoGP 08 now that I’ve had the game for a few weeks.

I don’t like the fact that there’s an obvious lack of options online. First off, the user cannot change the bike setup online which is a major turn-off for many people. There’s no option to organize a practice or a qualifying session. And because there is no qualifying session, it’s not possible to change on how everyone in a session is placed on the starting grid. Grid placement is solely determined by the order of when that player joined the lobby. There is also no Spectator mode, which should also be a standard for online play.

Up to 12 players can race together online, but it can get messy when there are 8 or more bikers. While racing online with this many people at once it’s possible to see other bike riders warp around, give the illusion of crashing when they actually didn’t, etc.

There’s no penalty/red time for deliberately cutting corners or for going off track, so one could cheat and do faster laps on tracks like Le Mans, Misano and Indianapolis where there are a few paved runoff areas.

Without a doubt, it’s those issues mentioned above regarding play on Xbox Live that presents the biggest negative of MotoGP 08.

Even though the physics for the Simulation handling model in MotoGP 08 is as close to realistic as it’s ever been in the MotoGP series to date, it’s still not possible to lock up the front tire while braking hard.

My initial impression of the graphics in this game wasn’t all that great. But now after I’ve taken a look at finer details of the bikes, riders, the surrounding environment of every circuit and especially the replays over the past few weeks, I can honestly say that this game looks phenomenal. The background and surrounding environments at tracks like Jerez, Catalunya, Mugello, Sachsenring, Brno and Sepang are sights to behold. During a replay of a wet race it’s possible to see the reflection of a rider and biker on the pavement which looks awesome. Even the skies look great in this game. My only gripe here regarding the graphics is that there should be backlight for the speedometer and tachometer readouts so that they’re easier to read while racing in helmet cam. I find it really irritating to have to squint my eyes at the screen trying to see how fast I’m going and where the revs are at since the dashboard appears so dark. Plus there should be more mist flying out from the tires while the bike is moving at or near top speed on a wet track.

It turns out that one of the achievements in this game may not be working properly. I’ve beaten all Challenges in the game yet it still doesn’t unlock the “No More Can Challenge Me” achievement. And I’ve found out that I’m not the only person that this has happened to. Hopefully a patch can be released in the near future, so that this problem along with several issues mentioned above are fixed.

Kruza

[i c u cant stop me]

i was thinking about picking this game up today but iam the type that will only play online mode and the way it sounds is that online mode isnt all that good.

[Kruza]

Don't get me wrong... it's still fun to casually play MotoGP 08 online despite the issues. It's just that it's very difficult for MotoGP players who like to organize and/or compete in online leagues to enjoy 08 because of the lack of options. And lack or red/penalty time ruins the competitive balance for dedicated MotoGP players who like to post their lap times from Time Attack mode on the Xbox Live scoreboards.

Kruza